ISTANBUL, Turkey –
Thousands gathered at a heavily guarded park in central Ankara on
Thursday demanding justice, and to support the leader of Turkey's
biggest opposition party, who set off on a 24-day "Justice March" after
one of his party's MPs was sentenced to 25 years in prison for "spying".

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), in
an address to the crowd before starting his walk said the marches would
continue until justice was restored in the country.

"Our only demand is justice. This is a holy march; this is not about any
political party. We are living under an autocratic administration
installed by the 20 July coup," he said, referring to the introduction
of a state of emergency on 20 July granting the government expanded
powers including the ability to bypass parliament and rule by decree.

"We don't want MPs and journalists in prison in our country. We want
justice for everyone," said Kilicdaroglu. "Enough now. This country will
get justice. Justice, justice, justice. If a price has to be paid, I am
willing to be the first to pay it."

The march is in response to the sentencing of CHP MP Enis Berberoglu on
Wednesday to 25 years in prison for engaging in "espionage".

Berberoglu was accused of providing the Cumhuriyet newspaper with video
purporting to show Turkey's intelligence agency trucking weapons into
Syria.

The newspaper reported in May 2015 that the trucks, which were allegedly
owned by Turkey's state intelligence service MIT, were found to contain
weapons and ammunition when they were stopped and searched in the
southern Turkish province of Adana in early 2014.

Media reports said the weapons were destined for the Islamic State group - a claim the Turkish government denies.

The president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, at the time said the shipment was
from MIT but that it was headed for Turkmen fighters opposed to both
Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, and to IS militants.

Erdogan had publically vowed to ensure that those involved in the
publishing of that video would pay dearly, calling them "traitors and
spies" for revealing national secrets.

Pro-government supporters say the prosecutors who ordered the search of
the MIT trucks were Gulenists, followers of the US-based Muslim preacher
Fethullah Gulen whom the authorities accuse of trying to topple
Turkey's constitutional order and also of carrying out last July's
failed coup attempt.

They also say the media outlet that published those videos must therefore have links to the Gulenists.

Appeal launched

Berberoglu's lawyer on Thursday morning launched an appeal against the sentence and arrest at an Istanbul court.

The CHP has called the sentence "politically motivated" and accused
judges of acting as pawns of Erdogan and his ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP).

Police sealed off Ankara's Guven Park on Wednesday night after
Kilicdaroglu had said he would be there on Thursday with nothing more
than a sign reading "justice".

Body searches were carried out on those seeking to enter the area on Thursday and sniffer dogs patrolled to detect explosives.

The Ankara governor's office issued a statement calling for police instructions to be observed to ensure safety.

Some of the chants from the crowd as Kilicdaroglu started his march towards Istanbul were directed at Erdogan and the AKP.

Don't remain silent, it will be your turn if you do

- marchers' chant

Chants of "don't remain silent, it will be your turn if you do", and
"shoulder to shoulder for justice" were interspersed with chants
of "thief, murderer AKP" and "thief, murderer Erdogan".

The protesters only carried signs that read "adalet", justice in Turkish. No political party symbols or flags were on display.

'Not a palace decision'

The AKP in its first reaction on Wednesday rejected the CHP's labelling
of the court verdict as being instructions from the presidential palace.

Bulent Turan, an AKP MP, speaking in parliament said: "It is ridiculous to call a judicial decision a palace decision."

Speaking after the CHP staged a walkout from parliament, he said:
"Threatening to leave parliament is an insult to those who voted for
you. You [CHP] also voted to lift the immunity from prosecution of MPs.
It wasn't just an AK Party decision."

The CHP has also come in for criticism from non-AKP supporters for
keeping silent when MPs from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party
(HDP) were imprisoned after the state of emergency was introduced.

The government has used expanded powers granted to it under the state of emergency to launch a large-scale purge of opponents.

More than 40,000 have been arrested and the number of people sacked or suspended from their jobs exceeds 125,000.

'Ideological bias'

Erdogan, in a speech on Wednesday, said state of emergency measures only
targeted terrorist organisations and any criticism of the government
regarding human rights and democracy were the result of "ideological
bias".

The CHP has also announced the holding of a "justice watch" in each of Turkey's 81 provinces.

The party has said the justice watches, similar to the democracy watches
that were held after the failed 15 July coup attempt, will continue
until the independence of the judicial system in the country is
restored.

Hundreds of people, including CHP MPs, on Thursday started gathering at
Macka Democracy Park, the designated venue for the Istanbul watch. A
vigil was also expected in front of the Maltepe prison in Istanbul where
Berberoglu is currently being held.

There have been no confrontations or clashes between security forces and protesters at any of the events.